But essentially the enemy was attacking her; damaging the older model was purely a mistake.
Now, the behavior of [X-17.9.57] is not necessary.
The two Clone observed from different areas and soon discovered more of these 'unexpected' phenomena:
Several high-speed maneuvering [X-15.2.3] vehicles swept past a group of gathered [X-2.7.4] vehicles as their jet exhaust swept over them, and the high-temperature turbulence damaged their acid-resistant coatings;
As several heavy [X-12.5.9] vehicles turned, their thick, spiked side armor crushed a small section of the vulnerable [X-3.1.6];
The mechanical swarm's primary target remained Wen Jing, but while pursuing and attacking her, the advanced models also eliminated the less efficient, older models...
Even the location of the conveyor belt discharge port has been subtly adjusted, with newly produced, more aggressive units more likely to land or collide with areas already teeming with inefficient models that are scattered across the battlefield.
"Is this the start of optimization...?"
Wen Jing, he instantly understood.
The Factory World is no longer simply about production and iteration; it has been infused with the intention of cleanup.
According to previously discovered rules, if the last unit of a certain model dies, that model will no longer be produced.
If the factory system continues to operate like this, in a maximum of another ten hours or so, the number of those bloated production lines that Wen Jing has been deliberately preserving and nurturing will be significantly reduced.
Once this large amount of redundant assets is successfully cleared out, the factory can free up production line and material capacity to focus on producing a few powerful, high-end models.
At that time, the 'economic bubble' she painstakingly created over the past forty-odd days will be quickly burst.
However, Wen Jing was not angry but rather pleased in the face of this unexpected turn of events.
This exposes two weaknesses of the Factory World.
First, the occurrence of proactive 'optimization' indicates that the other party's production capacity has reached a critical point; otherwise, it should continue to produce indefinitely as before.
Secondly, the basic rules she summarized earlier were correct; even the Factory World itself could not violate them. Otherwise, they could simply cut off the useless production lines without needing to call up new models to attack.
This further proves that her strategy of pushing the production line to its limits was correct!
Having proven this, her next task was quite simple.
"Protect those 'limited editions'."
The battlefield was vast, and the insect swarm was boundless. Even if Wen Jing's two Clone were strong, they would not be able to protect the thousands of 'precious scraps' scattered in various places under the siege.
They are too vulnerable to newer models that have undergone multiple iterations and upgrades. Even without being actively attacked, they are squeezed out and scrapped by the stronger newer models. Now that they are being actively targeted, they are falling one after another.
In particular, mechanical swarms are not living beings and lack the survival instincts of other organisms. Faced with the new model of harvesting, they will not only not retreat, but will also actively sacrifice themselves.
However, this doesn't mean Wen Jing is helpless.
The three minds, moving like lightning, instantly conceived of a solution.
A rough-looking creature, [X-6.2.8], covered in different colored resistance coatings, is 'rushing head-on' with a creature, [X-17.8.42], equipped with a high-frequency cutting blade. Just as the former is about to be cut in half...
The energy of the recent Reconnaissance Clone spread out, unleashing a spatial repulsive force that pointed directly at [X-6.2.8].
[X-6.2.8] The surrounding space seemed to be covered by a layer of frosted glass, suddenly creating an indescribable sense of blurriness.
The high-frequency cutting blade, which was about to hit the ground, missed its target and struck the air.
While [X-6.2.8] appears to be still in its original location, it is not actually in this space. Instead, it has been temporarily exiled to a separate, static interdimensional space.
It was precisely this [ Banishment ] that Wen Jing gained by devouring the world of pottery shards.
Almost simultaneously, a similar crisis erupted elsewhere.
Eight newly produced [X-18.0.57] units are efficiently shredding all the older models in front of them with enhanced mouthpieces that mimic those manufactured by Wen Jing.
Unlike before when she deliberately guided them, now they are actively causing harm to each other.
The latest models are even more blatant; they've started eliminating the fewest remaining older models.
Seeing this, the Strongest Clone transformed into a bolt of lightning that tore through the battlefield, ruthlessly cutting into the center of the formation.
[ Banishment ] can only Banishment one target during its duration. Even if there are two Clone, the ability's 'CD' remains the same. However, Wen Jing has another unique characteristic.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, a white light, still resembling a glove, flew out from the Strongest Clone and accurately struck the face of the soon-to-be-killed [X-3.4.8].
[ Duel Invitation ]!
Instantly, the [X-3.4.8] that was hit shuddered. The action that was sending the device to [X-18.0.57] just a moment ago was reversed. The command seemed to be rewritten, and the only target became Wen Jing.
"Squeak--!"
Even though it changed direction in time, [X-18.0.57]'s Sharpness mouthparts still grazed [X-3.4.8]'s body.
An unusual scene unfolded—it could easily shatter the mouthparts of other, higher-level models, but it failed to inflict fatal damage on [X-3.4.8], merely leaving a scratch, its power seemingly diminished by more than half.
This is precisely the special effect of the Duel Invitation. In addition to forcibly locking aggro, the damage to the target of this ability and Wen Jing will be reduced if they actively attack others or are attacked by others.
What was originally intended to be a forced 1v1 situation, from another perspective, actually 'saved' [X-3.4.8].
The Strongest Clone arrived at this moment, quickly destroying the [X-18.0.57] and effortlessly carrying and kicking the [X-3.4.8] away from the encirclement.
The Duel Invitation only affects the target's will, not Wen Jing's.
[X-3.4.8], her duel opponent, relentlessly attacked her, unleashing its full combat power. However, this damage was negligible to her; she could stand still and let it attack without breaking her defenses.
The abilities [ Duel Invitation ] and [ Banishment ] have almost never been used in actual combat since Wen Jing acquired them.
The latter, which she regarded as a 'fixed asset' for exchanging Skill Points when needed, became the key to breaking the deadlock at this moment.
"There are no useless features..."
If [ Intoxication ] could be applied to mechanical creations, Wen Jing's efficiency would be even higher.
But for now, having two Clone and the ability to use them simultaneously is enough for her to make a difference.
Specialized targets are not limited to older models; they can also be used on newer models to interrupt attacks, redirect aggro, or reduce damage, depending on the situation.
Wen Jing's figure darted across the battlefield, utilizing his superb mobility and meticulous control over the rules to the fullest extent in this special environment.
They acted like two slender yet incredibly strong threads, preserving the core of the bubble strategy: the 'toxic asset' inventory.
Of course, this also took her already massive amount of computation to an even higher level.
The Wilderness Body's energy consumption intensifies, with a large number of brain cells dying every moment. Compared to this, the physical damage is insignificant.
Correspondingly, the optimization of the Factory World is unsuccessful, and the production line can only continue to expand.
Finally, just as dawn was about to break.
"Waaah--"
The tone suddenly changed deep within the assembly line; it was no longer the high-frequency, continuous mechanical hum, but a low, distorted, eerie sound.
What followed was that the complex network of conveyor belts overhead began to shake abnormally, the lights in some areas flickered wildly and then suddenly went out, and the production outlets began to spit out semi-finished parts, as well as deformed waste products with different models of parts incorrectly assembled together.
This anomaly didn't even 'awaken' Wen Jing immediately; she had entered a state of flow, where real-time calculation and synchronized action had become instinctive.
As she once again used [ Banishment ] to save a [X-4.5.9] representing early composite energy resistance, and used the newly activated [ Duel Invitation ] to firmly hold back a [X-20.2.60] that had just been taken offline—
"Boom!!"
Countless intricate structures collapsed and disintegrated simultaneously, emitting mournful cries.
All the conveyor belts that were still running snapped at once, and parts and unassembled modules rained down like a storm.
Wen Jing's attack missed for the first time.
On the battlefield, all the mechanical insects, regardless of their new or old models, and regardless of what commands they were executing, froze in motion, their eyes went out, as if their power had been simultaneously cut off, and the matter that made up their bodies turned into sand and fell down in a flurry.
An endless production line that cannot be destroyed from the outside is destroyed from within.
Wen Jing suddenly snapped back to reality, his gaze falling upon the endless steel mesh sky above, now cracked with countless dark and unpredictable fissures.
This time, through her Mental Vision, she saw the core of the world located at the center of the conveyor belt—a sheet of paper with white lines and a blue background, displaying gears, levers, standard rulers, and processes in various shapes.
"So it was just a blueprint..."
Wen Jing was slightly taken aback upon seeing this.
Previously, she always thought that blueprints were a product of the information age, but it turns out they belong to the industrial age. She also thought that the core manifestation of this world would be things like steam furnaces and conveyor belts.
But upon further reflection, I quickly came to understand.
This world doesn't function through battles between swarms of mechanical insects, but rather through standardized mass production using her as the original template...
As she sighed, the tiny insect, which had always been in its primordial form in her Mental Vision, pounced on the blueprint and began to devour it.
Wen Jing was very much looking forward to what he would gain from the industrial-era civilization ruins, which were a level higher than those of the past.
The next moment, she perked up.
12113, 12133, 12153...
Skill Points skyrocketed, much faster than the rate at which the numbers on the Civilization Ruins had increased!
She continued to devour it with all her might, and when most of the blueprint had disappeared, she received a familiar panel notification—